<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>He's More Myself Than I Am by alls_fair_in_pride_and_prejudice</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25176604">He's More Myself Than I Am</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/alls_fair_in_pride_and_prejudice/pseuds/alls_fair_in_pride_and_prejudice'>alls_fair_in_pride_and_prejudice</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Astronomer and the Mage [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aaravos is so lonely, Cuddles, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Visions, soulmates?, star magic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 06:48:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,800</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25176604</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/alls_fair_in_pride_and_prejudice/pseuds/alls_fair_in_pride_and_prejudice</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Aaravos teaches the Astronomer a new spell, and there are a few unexpected revelations to come of it - Takes place while Aaravos and the Astronomer are still in the mirror prison.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aaravos (The Dragon Prince)/Original Female Character(s), Aaravos (The Dragon Prince)/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Astronomer and the Mage [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1819726</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>31</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>He's More Myself Than I Am</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey look another bonus scene! Have some encouraging teacher Aaravos, followed by some emotional hurt and comfort! No beta this time (Sorry, Eli) I was just too impatient to share this!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“The spell I plan to teach you today will not just grant you knowledge, it will provide a vision if done properly,” Aaravos says. “It is tradition with star mages that the master enters the student’s first vision with them, since it can be disorienting otherwise.”<br/>“We can do that? Enter visions together?” I ask.<br/>“With our mental connection, yes.”<br/>Aaravos hands me a book opened to a drawing of a rune. “I thought we would start with something pleasant for such an occasion: Cupio Cordis.”<br/>I repeat the incantation a couple times to get familiar with it. “What does it do?”<br/>“It reveals a person’s strongest and deepest desire, what they want most in the world.” Aaravos moves behind me, resting his chin on my shoulder. “Unlike any of the other spells you have learned so far, this one can also be directed inward toward yourself.” He runs his palms down the length of my arms. “When you have performed spells before, you channel the energy of the primal source through yourself and outward, where you draw the rune.”<br/>I nod, feeling the shift in energy mirrored by his caress.<br/>“When you perform a spell on yourself, you still go through this motion, but then you pull it inwards again. Think of it like the shoreline, the water reaches out to brush the sand,” he glides his fingers down my arms, “then the ocean pulls the waves back in again,” his fingers glide back the way they came, and he kisses the crook of my neck as they reach my shoulders again. “Do you understand?”<br/>“Yes, I think so.”<br/>Aaravos keeps his hands on my shoulders as a point of contact, and I can sense his presence just at the edge of my consciousness with our psychic connection. “Try it for yourself. Remember the waves.”<br/>I feel the energy of the stars flow through me, through my chest into my fingertips, then draw the rune, glowing an opalescent white in mid-air, then, just as I speak the incantation, I pull that energy back inwards towards my chest. “Cupio cordis.”<br/>There is a flash of light that overtakes my vision that I cannot shut my eyes against. It seems to fill my eyes themselves, on the inside of my eyelids. Then, it fades, and I am greeted with a vastly different sight than the sitting room where Aaravos and I stood just moments ago.<br/>Before me is a wide, grassy field with rolling hills in the distance. There is no sign of civilization, just the open night sky sprawling out above and the never-ending line of the horizon. The sky is filled with the brilliance of millions of stars, more than I could see in the city, the cloudy river of starlight cutting across the middle of heavens. Fireflies blink occasionally, flitting over the grass. I can almost feel the cool summer breeze, the grass beneath my feet.<br/>I might cry with how perfect it is. The freedom of the open space and the comfort of my truest love above me.<br/>“Remarkable for a first attempt, my star,” Aaravos encourages, standing behind me. He surveys our surroundings with a satisfied smile. “An impressively detailed vision, too, but you forgot to direct it toward yourself. Perhaps I should not have asked you to attempt two new things at once.”<br/>I thought I <em>did</em> direct the spell inwards, and the vision is such a bittersweet comfort, I would think that this is my own deepest desire. “Aaravos, what do you mean? I thought this <em>was</em> a vision of what I wanted.”<br/>Aaravos frowns, then, taking my hand in his, traces the same rune in the air with the other. “Cupio cordis.”<br/>The vision does not change, but it takes on a more vivid quality. This time, I really can feel the breeze against my skin, and can feel the grass tickle my calves. Aaravos looks around, this time with more scrutiny, then his face changes almost imperceptibly to one of surprise. “<em>Oh,</em>” his voice is hushed, “I should have noticed… you did not have the nebula blossoms…”<br/>I am still confused when Aaravos guides my hand to his chest. “Perform the spell on me, starlight.”<br/>It must truly be a special occasion if he is being so open with me. I perform the spell, directing the intent towards Aaravos instead of myself this time.<br/>The vision around us receives two additions: the field is spotted with glowing indigo wildflowers, and beneath us is a linen blanket and basket of all sorts of fresh fruit.<br/>There is only basic sustenance in the mirror, the kind you eat in midwinter and everything is carefully preserved. I suppose that was part of the punishment of the prison, that though Aaravos would never go hungry, he would never enjoy a fresh meal. The sight of the apples makes my mouth water, and I am certain that if we were to perform the spell on me once more, the apples would be part of my own dream  made visible.<br/>I have been so focused on the differences, that only now do I process the similarities. Aaravos thought I had made a mistake in the spell because my heart’s desire is so similar to his. I look at the space where my hand is still pressed to his chest, thinking of the heart that craves what I do. We are so similar, he and I, drawn to the other by curiosity at first, but now…<br/>“Do you suppose it is our shared experience in this realm that makes our desires so similar, my star?” Aaravos asks, tilting my chin to meet his gaze and caressing my cheek, “Or have I found a truly kindred spirit in you?”<br/>I mirror his actions, raising my hand to cup his cheek. “Why do I feel you were lonely long before you were trapped here, Aaravos?”<br/>He leans into my touch, eyes fluttering shut. “There are many ways to be lonely, as I am sure you know.”<br/>I cannot think of any friends I had at the castle, despite having worked there a year. My passion is a solitary one, with few that appreciate it.<br/>Aaravos mentioned once that there are only a handful of star mages at a time, and that it placed a unique burden on them. I have to think, though, that it had to have a loneliness attached to it. What if you did not get along with the other few? To be excluded from the entirety of your kind in such a way…<br/>The vision suddenly wavers, and several yards away, there is a circle of elves where there was an empty field before. I grab Aaravos’s hand and move closer, to see another version of himself before me, standing separate from four other startouch elves. It is Aaravos, there is no mistaking that, but somehow, he looks younger in a way I cannot place. Perhaps it is the way his hair is done, pulled away from his face in a ponytail, or perhaps it is a softer look in his eyes: more innocent and sparkling with youth.<br/>Each of the other elves is clothed in glittering jewels and silks, while Aaravos is clothed in a simple robe. One by one, they step forward, each placing a different type of jewelry on Aaravos. First, bangles around his wrists, then clasps on both his horns, then golden braces on his biceps, and finally an ornate necklace draped over his neck.<br/>I look to the Aaravos I know, to find his expression stoic and still save for the glimmering wetness in his eyes. This is a memory, but I am not sure why he would add this to the vision before me. I reach up to wipe the tears away and comfort him for whatever pain this scene brings up for him, when the vision disappears, and we are back in the mirror prison.<br/>But… no, this time we are in the library, the room I am prohibited from and only saw in passing glances.<br/>There is a sound of rustling papers and a huffing sigh, and I again see a younger Aaravos hunched over a desk, flipping through a weathered tome. He shuts it with a slam that reverberates through the room and screams. His hands run through his hair, gripping as if he wants to tear it out. His wrist bangles chime against his horns and the metal clasped there, and the sound seems to offend him. He rips off every piece of jewelry and finery, throwing it against the walls as he continues to scream.<br/>My Aaravos grips my arm like a vice, and with a wave of his other hand, the vision dissipates to leave me stumbling for my bearings. I grab onto Aaravos, so I do not fall, and when I look into his eyes there is barely concealed distress there. “How did you do that? Where could you have <em>possibly</em> learned to do that? Have you found your way into the library somehow to go behind my back?”<br/>I fumble with my words. “I thought… I… I didn’t do anything! I haven’t been in the library!”<br/>Aaravos’s eyes flit across my face, and although I do not know what he is looking for, he seems to find it, for his grip loosens, and his expression softens. “You… you truly do not know.”<br/>“Know what?”<br/>“You… somehow managed to see into my past,” he muses, his lips starting to twitch upwards, delighted as he is at a new puzzle, “Without any additional spell work. That is truly fascinating. We will have to explore this further, for you have more talent than I imagined.”<br/>So… the additional visions were not of his doing, but of mine? But I do not even understand what I saw. “Aaravos, those visions…”<br/>He places a finger to my lips, eyes pleading. “Please, I… I would rather not speak of it now. Just… come to bed with me.”<br/>We move to the bedroom, changing into sleep clothes, and as we climb in the bed, Aaravos pulls me close, one hand wrapped tight around my waist, the other holding my head to his chest. I wrap my arms around his midsection, and sling one leg over his so that we can be even closer, slotted against each other.<br/>We lay like that for so long, I begin to drift off in his arms to the soft stroking of his fingers on my scalp. Half asleep, I still hear him say, quietly, as if speaking to himself, “it is lovely not to be alone anymore.”<br/>It <em>is</em> lovely, I think, and I place a lazy kiss to his chest, where his heart should be, the heart that is a mirror of mine.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>There's a prize for the person that can correctly identify where I took the title from. Bonus points if you can guess WHY I chose that.<br/>Also, come say hi on my Tumblr: https://alls-fair-in-pride-and-prejudice.tumblr.com/</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>